


Domestic Shipping

by SomeGoodSheith



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bets & Wagers, Delivery Man!Lance, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Letters, Love Letters, M/M, One Shot, POV Outsider, bartender!keith, post office au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 22:07:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29740575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SomeGoodSheith/pseuds/SomeGoodSheith
Summary: Lance, Hunk and Pidge work together in Altea Post, the central post office of the city.The three discover letters from Shiro and Keith, two strangers that write to each other again and again, and place their bets on what the relationship between the two is.Are they friends? Are they more than that? Eventually, the trio will find out.
Relationships: Allura/Lance (Voltron), Keith & Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Shiro (Voltron)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 33





	Domestic Shipping

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you [Cookie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fantasywalking/pseuds/fantasywalking/works) and [Rita](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Abyssiniana/works) for beta-reading and helping! :>

“Good morning, Lance,” Pidge’s voice mocked him as he walked into the office. 

“Seriously, dude? You’re late  _ again _ ?” Hunk sipped his beverage loudly enough for Lance to groan. 

“What? I’m not  _ that  _ late―”

“Forty-five minutes late, actually,” Coran stepped in, his arms crossed. Lance’s heart jumped and immediately sank; he hated being caught. “ _ Altea Post _ cannot stand workers who are late, Lance. Be more careful next time. Hunk, drink more quietly.”

“Sorry, boss,” both young men said in unison.

“Yes, good. Now, remember coming to lunch on time later. It’s meatballs day!” Coran beamed, waving goodbye as he left the others be; they sat together in silence until they heard the door close behind him.

“Seriously, man, we’re not in high-school anymore,” Pidge said from beyond Hunk’s shoulder. “Getting fired is much worse than having your teacher telling you to get out of class.”

“I know, I know,” Lance sighed, “though is it really my fault that anime’s gotten really good lately? I mean, have you even tried  _ Jujutsu Kaisen _ ?”

“It’s called delayed gratification, Lance. You need to try that sometime. I, for instance, am waiting for  _ Jujutsu Kaisen _ to finish airing so I can binge-watch it with Matt.”

“Just a week ago you and your brother stayed overnight in front of a computer store to be the first to get a new video game.”

“ _ Voltron: Across the Universe _ was worth it, and you know it.”

“What about all the gadgets and tech stuff you always buy?”

“Those are things I  _ need _ !”

“Hey, guys, look at this,” Hunk’s voice came from the packages room. The other two stared in his direction for a moment, puzzled, before getting up from their seats to join him, all gazing down at a letter in his hand. “It’s that Keith Kogane again. I saw his name on another letter like two weeks ago.”

“Oh yeah, I remember seeing that name too,” Pidge adjusted her glasses on her nose, “about a month ago, this Keith guy had a package delivered to him from… uh, what was his name? Shiro? Shiro-something?”

“Takashi Shirogane?” Hunk asked her.

“Yes! Yes, that was it.”

“This one is also from Takashi Shirogane. But if I remember correctly, the letter I saw two weeks ago was from Keith to this Takashi guy. Seems like they exchange letters a lot,” Hunk put his hand on his chin as Lance snatched the letter away from his hand. 

“This is so weird. Why are they sending each other letters so often? Can’t they just text each other?”

“Maybe they’re penpals,” Hunk suggested, to which Lance gave him a look. “What? It still exists. And sometimes it's nicer to get a physical letter rather than a tiny text.”

“Maybe they’re more than friends,” Pidge examined the handwriting on the envelope; the writing was neat, not too forced, written with a regular black marker. “I can’t tell, though.”

Lance let out a “pfft” sound through his lips. “What? No way. If they were gay I'd know it.”

Pidge forced a laugh. "Dude, your gay-dar is the worst I've ever seen."

“No, it's not!”

“What about our math teacher in seventh grade? You had a big crush on her until someone had to tell you she had a girlfriend.”

“It was the seventh grade! My gay-dar is way better now!”

“Oh yeah?” Hunk intervened, “then how about Rolo from the second floor?”

“W—he's not  _ gay _ , he has a gi—”

“He’s bisexual, bro. Get over it.”

“Ugh, fine, whatever. Then let’s make a bet,” Lance crossed his arms after putting on the company's hat. “I’m saying they're not gay, and even if one of them is, they're not together. What about you, Pidge?”

“I say that they are, they’re in love, and they’re dating in a long-distance relationship.”

“Seriously?”

“Yep,” Pidge’s smug grew as she adjusted her glasses on her nose. “I suggest we’ll follow the frequency of their letters and packages to each other, look at the envelopes and the shipping requirements, and determine by that if they’re in love or not.”

“How can we tell by that?”

“The frequency tells you how eager they are to write to each other. The kind of shipping tells you about the care they want the delivery to be in. If the package is small or big or has something on it, it can tell you a lot!”

“Right. Good job, Sherlock Holmes. I guess. But that doesn't matter; what do we bet on?”

Pidge’s grin grew. “There’s a very specific video game I'm waiting for to come out in a few months. If I win, you buy it for me.”

“Deal. If I win, you help me to get a date with Allura.”

“Deal,” Pidge laughed as they shook hands. Both of them looked at Hunk. “What about you? Are you joining the bet?”

“As long as you promise me we won't violate their privacy.”

“Of course we won’t.”

“Yeah, it’s not like we’ll open their packages or something,” Lance added. 

“Alright. Then I say they’re in love but don’t know it yet. If I win I want the game Pidge wants  _ and _ Mr. Holt’s chocolate-chips cookies.”

“Hey, that’s not fair! Pick just one prize,” Lance glared at him. “I’m not shaking on that.”

“Okay, okay. Then just Pidge’s dad’s cookies.”

The three of them shook hands. 

“Lance?” Coran stepped in. “Why are you still here? Don’t you have some things to deliver on your bike?”

“Right, yes. Sorry, boss. I'll be right there.”

✦

“Hey guys, look. Another letter arrived. This one’s from Keith.”

It’s been three weeks this time. The envelope that arrived on the batch that day was relatively small, brown, and padded. 

Pidge took the letter from Hunk’s hands. She stared at the writing for a small while, biting her bottom lip before speaking. “Look. He wrote ‘Shiro Takashi Shirogane’ this time. Maybe that's his nickname?”

“Or a second name?” Lance tried, but his friends looked at him with raised eyebrows. 

“It looks like he wrote it out of habit. It’s written really closely to the other name. His writing style is much more hurried, in general. I looked a bit online at graphology, but a book might be more reliable if we want to understand more thoroughly.”

“Do we really need to get to that level? Didn’t we say we’re gonna keep their privacy safe?” Hunk mumbled.

Pidge looked at him for a moment before grumping, “Ugh, you’re right. I'm just really curious, you know? This place is kinda boring and this letter exchange is the most exciting thing that's happened lately.”

“I feel you.”

“So what can we say about the letter, other than the envelope looks really cheap and his handwriting is clumsy?” Lance asked, taking another bite of his sandwich.

“Well,” Pidge began, “we can assume that since it looks like he wrote on the envelope rather hurriedly that he wanted this letter to be sent fast; but since he paid for regular delivery rather than express, maybe he doesn't have the means for it to be delivered as fast as he wanted it to. Which means that he’s pretty excited about sending this letter to Shiro—yes, I’m going to call him Shiro from now on, sue me."

“Which means he probably likes him more than just a friend! Hell yeah!” Hunk raised his fist in the air and gave Pidge a high-five. Lance groaned at him.

“You two are just telling yourselves that because you think they're together. I think it can also mean that this guy's cheap and doesn't care that much.”

“ _ Or _ you’re selling him short because  _ you _ don’t want to believe they can be together!” Pidge crossed her arms.

“Dudes! Both of you can be right!” Hunk tried to compromise.

“Let’s wait for Shiro’s next letter and see what we can gather. Hunk, do you still have that list we made about their letters’ possible characteristics?”

“Yep. I'll write it all down later.”

Lance looked at his watch, putting his backpack on his shoulder. “Cool. I’ll see you guys later; gotta go to the delivery post before Coran arrives.”

The others waved him goodbye, and he went out the door and down the stairs.

_ It can’t be that those two are boyfriends, right? That's too far-fetched. Long-distance relationships might be more common nowadays, but it didn't mean everyone who seemed a little bit close was necessarily together.  _

_ Especially two dudes. What's the deal with that? _

✦

“Check it out! A package from Shiro!” Hunk’s voice was louder than usual that morning. “Look how big it is!”

“Dude, it's barely been two weeks!” Pidge grinned, fixing her glasses on her nose. “Holy shit. And look, he drew a little smiley near Keith's name. That's so sweet!”

“Awww!”

“Don’t get your hopes up; maybe Shiro is just nice,” Lance tried, but this time, even he couldn’t deny that it was kind of adorable. “Much nicer than that Keith guy, anyway. How come he gets such a big package but only sends tiny lame letters?”

“Oh, stop being such an ass. You don’t know anything about this guy.”

“What? It’s not like you do. You’re just assuming because you want to win the bet.”

“You’re doing the same thing!  _ Unless _ —” Pidge raised her voice.

“Unless what?”

“Guys! Tune it down. We don’t want Coran to tell us we’re too loud… again.”

“Sorry, Hunk. But seriously, Lance, you’re my friend and I love you but you sound really biased against Keith. Why is that?”

“What are you implying?” Lance raised his eyebrow at her.

“Do you know something we don’t?”

“No! Are you calling me a cheater?!”

“I don’t know, are you?”

“I’m NO—okay, fine. I’ll admit something but you gotta promise you won’t make fun of me.”

Pidge and Hunk both looked at him. “We’re listening.”

Lance sighed. “I just… it’s not fair, you know? Them seeming so close and all. Why should  _ they _ have that? I just…”

“Want something like that, too?” Pidge completed his sentence, her voice softer than before.

“Yeah…”

“Hey. We get it. Don’t be upset. Look, we'll help you get a date with Allura whether you win the bet or not, okay?”

“Really?” Lance smiled a little. “You’ll do that for me?”

“Of course, man. We’re friends.” Hunk smiled.

“Aww. You guys!”

The three put the package on the nearest table and hugged. Laughing, they turned to it again, gazing at the cute smiley that was drawn near Keith's name.

“So… do any of us want to change their guesses?” Hunk asked, taking a small notepad out of his pocket. 

“Alright, alright. I’ll say they like each other but don’t know how to say it, so they’re saying it through gifts.”

“Good bet. I’ll stay with my guess that they don’t know they’re in love yet. What about you, Pidge?”

“I’ll stick to my guess, too. Long-distance relationship,” Pidge grinned.

“Hell yeah! I can’t wait for the next delivery. I wonder what Keith’s gonna send back!” Hunk high-fived both Lance and Pidge. 

‘Next time’ didn’t take long to arrive. Keith’s next package was a tad larger than his usual delivery, and on the back of the brown wrapping, a  _ DO NOT BEND _ message was written in bold letters. After about a month, Shiro's letter arrived at the post office, and the three workers couldn’t help but make  _ awww  _ sounds at the heart sticker that sealed the envelope. The letter Keith sent three weeks later was thinner than the previous, but the warning  _ AGAIN. DO NOT BEND _ was written on it; on Shiro’s letter two weeks afterward, a dog sticker sealed it this time, with a small handwritten speech bubble that said: “I woof you.”

It was like watching an unfolding rom-com.

✦

“What do you think Shiro and Keith look like?” Lance asked right before taking a swing of his beer. It was a quiet late evening in  _ Red Lion _ , a local bar that Matt had introduced to his sister and her friends some time ago. “I imagine Shiro as a handsome, lean salaryman with cool suits, nicely-cut black hair, and huge eyes. The kind of guy that smiles at everybody and is just a good listener.” 

Pidge almost choked on the fries that she just ate. “This is the most stereotypical thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Oh yeah? Do you have something better in mind?”

“Well, I think Shiro can be a tall, buff guy. The kind of person that jogs around the neighborhood at five in the morning and really cares about his health.”

“How the hell did you get to  _ that  _ conclusion?”

Pidge shrugged. “I didn’t. It’s just fun to disagree with you. I bet he’s a big nerd though, with those stickers he puts on the envelopes he sends. What do you think, Hunk?”

“No idea, really. But I think Keith would be the buff guy. You know, he sounds very tough, like a protective boyfriend.”

“Pff. If by protective you mean hothead, then yeah.”

“I have a theory,” Pidge pointed at Lance, “that you hate him even without knowing him because he reminds you of someone else.”

The three looked at one of the bartenders. With a crimson shirt and black tight jeans, a deep-brown mullet, and a pair of piercing eyes that seemed almost violet, the bartender which they knew as K was talking to another worker from behind the bar, with two light-green cocktails in fancy glasses on a tray he was just picking up.

“No. Ah-ah. It’s definitely not K. Shiro would never date a guy like him.”

“Why not? Maybe K’s K is the beginning of the name Keith?” Pidge smiled, drinking the last few drops of her beer bottle. 

“First of all, K can be anything, like Kevin or Kenny or Kyle. Second of all, it can’t be K because he’s rude, annoying, and kinda snappy.”

“Didn’t he snap at you last time because you spilled like half of your beer bottle on his clothes?”

“It was an accident!”

“Nope. No, it wasn’t,” Pidge chuckled.

“Hey, don’t take his side!”

“Which one of you ordered mojitos?” a voice came from behind Lance, to which he jumped and immediately rolled his eyes afterward.

“Me! Me and her,” Hunk smiled as Pidge and he took the drink. “Thanks, K.”

“Oh my god, it’s  _ delicious _ ,” Pidge hummed.

“Thanks. The secret is in the hierbabuena,” K told her. “Anything else I can do for you?”

“Yeah. What’s your real name?” Lance looked at the bartender.

The hint of K’s smile was gone as soon as it appeared. “That’s none of your business. Anything else?” 

“Why can’t you tell us?” Pidge added, curious.

“Because that's what I decided. Anything else that actually has to do with my job?”

“Yeah, why are you always such an ass?”

K glared at Lance until the latter had the urge to gulp. Letting out some air through his nose, K walked away, shaking his head. 

Pidge slapped Lance’s arm. “What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to pick a fight with him?”

“I just say what I think. It’s not my fault he's so presumptuous and annoying,” he crossed his arms. Then, he made a face, and in a mocking tone, mimicked: “ _ I’m K and I hide my real name because I'm shady _ .”

“That's his own business, Lance.”

“It's just a name.”

“And he’s just doing his job, man. Besides, he was being nice until you insulted him for absolutely no reason. What if he tells his boss and we’re banned?” 

“I don’t want to be banned. They have good drinks,” Hunk whined, practically hugging his mojito.

“Guys, chill. We won’t get banned.”

Pidge crossed her arms. “Dammit. I wanted to ask him to write something on a napkin. We could’ve seen if this guy is Keith or not!” 

Lance looked at her for a short while. “Why didn’t you tell me, then?!”

“Because before I could, you screwed it up!”

“Okay, hold on, I’ll try to fix it,” he turned his gaze to the bar. “Hey, Mullet!”

K, who stood behind the bar and made another cocktail, looked at him with an impatient gaze. It was clear he didn’t appreciate the nickname, but Lance didn’t really care. 

“Can you come here for a moment? Please?”

K rolled his eyes and stayed in his post.

Lance turned to his friends again. “He’s ignoring me.”

“Of course he’ll ignore you.” Pidge took her phone out of her pocket. 

“Also none of this really matters because we agreed not to intrude Shiro and Keith’s privacy. I think we should just let him be,” Hunk said. 

“Yes, dad,” Lance and Pidge told him. 

“Hey, Lance? I think your date is here,” Hunk continued, glancing at the entrance of the bar. 

“What? Already?” Lance turned to see a tall, dark woman with long, white curls and charming blue eyes. She walked to a farther part of the bar. “Oh my god, Allura’s stunning even more than usual,” he exhaled, turning to his friends again. “How do I look?”

Both his friends put their thumbs up. 

“You’re gonna ace it, man.” Hunk smiled. 

“Thanks. I really hope so,” he bit his lip. With one last nod, he finally got up. “Wish me luck!”

“You’ve got this. Just be you,” Pidge looked at her phone again.

“Right. Yes. Okay! See you later!”

As he walked away, Pidge and Hunk kept on watching for a while, sipping their mojitos loudly.

“Are you sure we’re not gonna tell him?” Hunk asked her.

Pidge smirked. “And what will be the fun in that?”

✦

“Shiro deserves someone better than Keith,” Lance announced as he and his friends walked back to the office from lunch. 

“Here we go again. Why is it this time? Because his envelopes are plainer than Shiro’s?” Pidge frowned, not moving her gaze from her phone.

“Because every time he writes ‘do not bend’ on the envelopes, it’s kind of intimidating?” Hunk added.

“I dunno. It looks like he doesn’t try hard enough. And Shiro seems so nice.”

“You can’t know that from an envelope, Lance,” Pidge shrugged.

“Oh yeah? You did that too.”

“First of all, even though Hunk pointed out that it’s a bit intrusive, I did read some graphology books at home, so there. Second of all, from what I know you, Lance, you always base your thoughts on first impressions—like a certain bartender  _ ahem _ .”

“Hey, it’s not like that with K! Right, Hunk?” 

“Uh…”

“ _ Hunk! _ ”

“Dude, that’s not the point,” Pidge continued. “Have you ever considered that maybe Keith is just really careful with his delivery because he cares about Shiro and he doesn’t want the package to be damaged?”

“Have  _ you _ ever considered how it always looks like Shiro does something extra to let him know that he loves him?” Lance argued as Hunk opened the door of their office. All of them stepped inside and sat in their usual seats. “Like that dog sticker last time. Even I want someone to do that for me if I ever get a letter. Keith needs to step up his game!”

“You have no idea what he writes in his letters, though. Maybe he keeps the romantic stuff only for Shiro to see.”

“Wait. Guys,” Hunk suddenly frowned. “When was the last time we've seen a letter from Keith or Shiro?” 

“Hm…” Pidge turned to her computer and went through a few monthly reports of their deliveries. “Damn. Four months ago.”

“What?!” Lance whipped his head to look at the screen as well. “It’s been that long? How? Why?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t notice either! Time passed too fast lately.”

“Maybe their letters are processed somewhere else?” Hunk suggested.

“That’s impossible. This is the central post office. We process packages to the smaller branches for the entire city,” Pidge said.

“Don’t tell me that… that they’ve lost contact? Or even worse—broke up?!” Hunk put his hands on his head.

“Don’t jump to conclusions! Maybe they just don’t have time. Let’s wait some more and see what happens!”

✦

Each month passing without a letter from Keith or Shiro dragged slower and slower. 

Their names were never seen again in the post office. Even when they asked other workers in other package delivery points in the office, or looked at the daily delivery report at the end of each day, the names never came up. 

Work was boring again, but also—much quieter than it used to be.

✦

It was the end of the day. Lance was already finished with the deliveries he was given, although he left his phone on sound mode in case he had a call. He leaned his back against Hunk’s, staring at the ceiling. Pidge sat beside them, her eyes on her phone as her thumb swiped up the screen every now and again.

“Pidge…” Lance’s voice dragged out of his throat. “How long has it been?”

She didn’t need to ask what he was talking about. “Nine months.”

“From the last letter? Or the first one?”

“The last one. So it makes it about… eleven months since we discovered their letters.”

“Damn. That’s a long time,” Hunk mumbled.

Lance sighed. "Is love dead? Is there any hope left in the world?"

“We don’t know what happened…” Pidge said, “maybe they finally moved to the modern method of, you know, sending messages to each other or something.”

“But what if they didn’t? What if Keith screwed up and they’re not talking now?”

“Dude. We’ve been over this. You don’t even know the guy.”

“Well, I know enough to—”

“Lance,” Hunk’s voice suddenly pierced through the both of them. “Coran texted me. He says you have a delivery request.”

“What? Why did he tell you and not me?” Lance straightened his back.

“He said you didn’t pick up.”

“But I left my phone on sound mode just f—oh, shit, I didn’t. Damn.” He typed an apology message for Coran and picked up his cap and bag. “I’ll go see what this is. I’ll talk to you guys later.”

“Okay.”

“Good luck, dude.” 

✦

1 brain cell 🤪✨

You, Honk, Pudge

**You** :

GUYS!! You will NEVER gUESS WHERE IM GOING!!!

4:58 PM

**Pudge** :

sup

4:58 PM

**Honk** :

Where?

4:58 PM

**You** :

SHIRO FUCKING SHIROGANES HOUDE

HOUSE*

4:59 PM

**Pudge** :

omg whAT???????

also 

did you just call him shiro shirogane lol fjldkjalajkd

4:59 PM

**Honk** :

is this the letter coran told you to deliver??

4:59 PM

**You** :

yES

YES IT IT

IT IS*

kdkdkdkdfjfjf

Its a letter from his relatives or something!! 

They asked fora personal deliver y and IM GOING TO HIS PLACE RIGT NOW AAAAA

5:00 PM

**Honk** :

good luck dude!! keep us posted!! o:

5:00 PM

**Pudge** :

Please don’t do anything dumb

5:01 PM

**You** :

Is that h ow yyou know mr/?

5:01 PM

**Pudge** :

🤦♀️

5:01 PM

Lance put his phone in the pocket of his jacket and took the package between his arms. He looked once more at his bike, making sure it’s securely parked, before trotting towards a house on Atlas Street. It was smaller than he imagined it to be but nice. Grass and flowers grew on each side of the path that led to the front door; it seemed that the house was surrounded by the garden. The doormat had the Milky Way planets decorating it— _ he’s definitely a nerd, but a really cool one _ , he thought.

He found that his heartbeat hastened. His face became hot as he stood there by the door; what would Shiro look like? Would he really be as nice as he seemed? Would he be depressed because of his alleged breakup with Keith, or did he find someone else already? 

Will Lance even be able to tell?

He shook his head to chase the thoughts away. At least he has this opportunity to finally face the real deal and tell his friends what happened.

Letting out a soft breath through his lips, Lance knocked on the door. “Delivery!” He called.

Hurried steps were heard from behind the wooden door; then, the pull of a metal chain lock and the turning of a key. 

Lance smiled, his eyes widening as the door finally opened—

And his smile immediately turned into a gasp. 

“Mullet?!”

Before him, stood a lean man with a shoulder-long mullet and with wide, almost-violet eyes. His shirt, black with the writing  _ I Don’t Believe in Humans _ and a simple alien design below it, was hanging loosely on his body, obviously too big for his size. 

K crossed his arms. “Do I know you?”

“W—of course you know me! I’m Lance. From the bar?”

“Oh, wait. I remember you. You’re the guy who constantly calls me names at my own workplace—”

“Hey, hold on—”

“And the one who spilled beer on my favorite shirt after my shift ended,” his tone was getting heavier the more he spoke, his eyes squinting; Lance could only chuckle with embarrassment. 

“You’re still mad about that? Don’t be so worked up about it; it’s just a shirt. Water under the bridge, right?”

“Fuck you.”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry I did that to your shirt. And for the other times I called you names. I really am, and I should’ve apologized sooner. It won’t happen again. Please don’t stay mad.” 

K stayed with his arms crossed, sighing, but nodded his head lightly. At least that was something. “What do you want?” his voice was somewhat softer.

“A delivery for Takashi Shirogane. Which reminds me—why are  _ you  _ here?”

K snorted. “Are you serious? Why do you think that I need to explain myself to you?”

“Just answer the question, man!”

“Jesus, relax. I live here.” 

“W… wait, no, wait. Isn’t it Takashi Shirogane’s house?”

K sighed. “Yes.”

Shiro lives here. K lives here. Which means…

Lance gasped, his entire face stretching. “ _ You’re _ Keith Kogane?!” 

“Yeah. Don’t call me that at my work, though.”

“And you live here?!”

“I already told you that I do. Can I take the package now?”

“You didn’t stop writing because you broke up, you stopped writing because you  _ moved in together _ ?!”

“Stop screaming, what are you talking about?”

“Oh my god, oh my god, Pidge and Hunk are gonna  _ freak out _ —”

“Babe? Is everything okay over there?” another voice came from within the house. Then, a tall, muscular man in a white shirt and tight light-blue jeans walked from behind him, wrapping a prosthetic arm around Keith’s shoulders. Black undercut with white bangs, a firm jaw, a scar across the bridge of his nose, and two storm-grey eyes; Takashi Shirogane put his free hand in his pocket and gazed up and down at the delivery man. “You guys know each other?”

“Not really. But he’s the douche who spilled beer on the shirt you gave me,” Keith complained. 

“Aww, love, I told you not to worry about that shirt.”

“But Shiro, it was a gift from you,” Keith made a sad face until Shiro kissed the tip of his nose. 

As they continued talking between them, Lance stared at them both, his eyes wide and sparkling. They ended up together! They didn’t break up! How wonderful is that?!

When he felt his eyes stinging with tears, Shiro’s voice reached him. “Are you okay, pal?”

“Yes,” his voice squicked; he cleared his throat, sniffled, and repeated, “yes, I’m fine.”

Keith pointed at the package in Lance’s arms. “Anyways. Apparently, he works for  _ Altea Post _ .”

Shiro’s eyes lightened up. “Oh, it must be the gift from my grandparents! Thank you so much, Mr...?”

“L-Lance,” he replied, gulping visibly after he gaped for a moment. 

“Nice to meet you, Lance. I’m Shiro. Is there anything we need to sign on or can we just take the package?”

“Ah—no, you don’t need to sign… anything,” Lance said, his voice distant as Keith took away the package, bringing it into the house. 

Realization hit him harder than he could have expressed: Pidge knew. She  _ knew _ . The hints were there all along, he just missed them!

Right then, a car parked nearby, making Shiro gaze over and smile. From it, Matt, Pidge, and Hunk came out. Pidge ran over with her phone in her hands, ready to immortalize the moment through video, yet let out a loud, devastated groan. “No! We missed it! I wanted to see Lance’s face!”

“Sorry, Katie. I tried,” Matt smiled apologetically, but his sister waved it off. 

“Hey Matt, hey Pidge,” Shiro waved at them as Keith joined him into the same position again, this time wrapping his arm around the taller man’s waist, as well. 

“Hey guys,” Matt said with a smile.

Pidge waved at him as well. “Hey Shiro—oh, so K is actually Keith! Nice—”

“Pidge!” Lance cut her off, “you knew?! What the hell!”

Her smug was never bigger. “To be fair I didn’t know how Keith looked, but yep! I knew that it was Shiro.”

“Shiro and I went to high-school and college together,” Matt explained with a chuckle. “Katie told me about her plan to make you pay for our new video game so obviously I told her to carry on. I didn’t want to give her too much advantage though so I didn’t reveal who Keith was.”

“Oh, how  _ kind  _ of you, Matt,” Lance frowned, crossing his arms. “You guys are unbelievable. Wait—Hunk?!” he moved his gaze to him. 

Smiling, Hunk scratched the back of his own head. “Sorry, dude. I didn’t know right from the start, but Pidge told me after a while.”

“Even you?!”

“Can we all stop screaming in the middle of the street?!” Keith finally cut through the conversation. When everyone looked at him and apologized, he let out a sigh. 

“How about we move this conversation to our garden?” Shiro suggested; Keith looked at him but before he could say anything, Shiro pressed a kiss on his cheek. Keith kept quiet after that. 

“Really?” Lance blinked, his eyes widening.

“Sure, why not? This way we won't disturb our neighbors any more than we already did,” he chuckled. “You can all go through the path that surrounds the house and chill in the garden. Keith and I will join you in a sec.”

Matt chuckled and took the lead. Behind him, Pidge followed, humming to herself, as Lance and Hunk tagged along as well.

The garden revealed to be vast and green, with trees at its farthest line, filled with grass, surrounded with flowers. The sun was already in the west, painting the sky in deep orange that slowly dissolved into a darkening blue. 

Lance turned to the house. It looked even nicer from the back. As the sun-rays pointed at the roof, he noticed a telescope hiding behind the window of what seemed to be an attic with a balcony.

The light was turned on once they all sat together: Hunk, Pidge, and Lance on the hanging chair that faced the house; Matt on a chair he dragged from the garden table. Keith and Shiro brought beers and snacks and dragged two chairs to sit together in front of their guests.

“Thanks for inviting us in even though you don't really know us,” Hunk smiled apologetically. 

“No need to apologize, uh—Hunk, right?” Shiro looked at him.

“Yeah! Good memory, man.” 

“And Lance. Pidge’s friends, from what we saw,” Shiro smiled.

“Yeah, and co-workers. We all work in the post office.”

“That's nice. Friends of our friends are always welcome here,” Shiro intertwined his fingers with Keith’s. 

With his free hand, Keith opened the bottle for Shiro without the need for a bottle opener; he used the edge of his seat. “Here.”

“Thanks, babe.”

“How did you do that?!” Lance’s eyes widened.

“... I just opened it.”

“Keith is just talented like that,” Shiro grinned, raising Keith's hand to his lips for a soft kiss. 

“You’re such a sap,” Keith chuckled. “But you’re the talented one and you know it.”

“Definitely not more than you.”

“Gosh, stop being gross, please,” Matt complained. 

“Says the guy that calls his girlfriend  _ honey bunny  _ and  _ sugar pie _ ,” Shiro raised his eyebrow. “Pidge is a witness so you can’t deny it.”

“I sure am,” Pidge giggled.

“... Fair enough.” 

“So what were you guys talking about out there?” Keith finally asked, looking at Pidge and her friends. “Something about a bet?”

“Oh, yeah. They had a bet about what kind of relationship you two have based on the letters you sent each other before you moved in together,” Matt laughed. 

“We didn’t open the letters, though!” Pidge hurried to say. “We promise.”

As Shiro laughed his lungs out, Keith frowned, raising his hand in a confused gesture. “Why would you even bet on something like that?”

“Because work was boring and Lance is easy to tease,” Pidge smirked, sticking her tongue out at him as he made a face at her. 

“Oh. Well, as long as Lance lost, that’s okay,” Keith shrugged.

“Hey! The bet was rigged!” Lance pointed at Keith, “and I was rooting for you!”

“I find that hard to believe.”

“W-well I was!… eventually!”

“He was rooting for you when he didn’t know it was you,” Pidge chuckled, earning herself a glare from Lance. 

“Snitch.”

“What can I say? You were a butt. Face it.”

“I already apologized for being a butt! Right, Keith?”

He shrugged. When Lance was about to protest, Keith laughed, shaking his head. “Yes, Lance. Water under the bridge.”

“Yes! That’s what I said! Thank you.”

“So what did you guys bet on?” Shiro chuckled. “Anything worthwhile, at least?”

“I bet on a new video-game that Lance is gonna get me,” Pidge said proudly. “Lance bet on a date that actually went pretty well—”

“She’s my girlfriend now, thank you very much,” he smirked. 

“And Hunk got my dad’s cookies.”

“If you ask me, that's the best price,” Hunk stated.

“I agree with Hunk,” Shiro smiled. 

“Not when it's  _ your  _ cookies, though,” Matt laughed.

“Watch it, Matt,” Keith glared at him.

“W—am I wrong?”

“I know my cooking is terrible,” Shiro laughed, “it’s the one skill I could never master. That's why having Keith is such a blessing.”

“I'm not that good, Takashi. I just remember some recipes.”

“Well  _ my _ cooking skills are  _ perfect _ ,” Lance grinned.

Pidge snorted at him. “Sure they are.”

“What's wrong with my cooking skills?!”

“That the only thing you can do is pasta. Which was really great at first, but it's literally the  _ only _ thing you make.”

“I’m no Hunk, but my pasta is the best!”

“So Keith and Shiro, how did you two meet?” Hunk asked after he was  _ dying _ to ask the question for a while now. He swung his beer and took a bag of chips. “If you want to tell us, of course.”

Shiro looked at Keith. “Can I tell them?”

Keith nodded, chuckling. “Why not. It’s a funny story, anyways.”

“Okay so,” Shiro began, a smile on his face, “sometime in the first year of college a few years back, I went to visit my grandparents who live in New York, and there happened to be some really cool space exhibitions in the Museum of Natural History, so of course I had to go. You know, black hole exhibitions, how vast space is, are we really alone in the universe, and those cool light and sound shows, and—”

“You’re off track again, Shiro.”

“Right. Sorry. Thanks, babe. Anyways, in between the exhibitions, there were just so many people, at some point, I couldn't even see where I was going. So I accidentally bumped into Keith, dropped his phone, and while I was apologizing, I stepped on it and broke it.”

Matt laughed. “Classic Takashi Shirogane.”

“How did you manage to do all that?” Pidge giggled while Hunk and Lance laughed.

“That’s what happens when you’re in a sea of people and you're called Takashi I’m-a-clumsy-giant Shirogane,” her brother winked but gulped when he could feel Keith's gaze piercing through his temple. 

“I mean, Lance and I are clumsy too,” Hunk tried to comfort.

“Not  _ that _ clumsy, dude,” Lance added. “I wish I knew you back then so I could see it happening; would’ve filmed it, too.”

“If you’d’ve filmed it, my phone would’ve not been the only broken one,” Keith smiled at him. Lance knew that he was probably not joking.

“Anyways,” Shiro continued, chuckling, “for some reason, he was much less mad at me than I thought he’d be.”

“For  _ some _ reason,” his boyfriend repeated. “First of all, the most gorgeous guy I’ve ever seen runs into me and steps on my phone, so obviously I can’t be  _ too  _ mad—”

“Keith!” Shiro mumbled, covering his face.

“What? I'm just saying the truth. And secondly, I really needed an excuse to get another phone so in a way, you helped me with that.”

“And yet you still didn’t allow me to pay for it.”

“Why would I? It was  _ my _ phone.”

“Yes, that  _ I _ broke—No, never mind, we’re always getting stuck on this argument. Anyways! We spent the entire day together, and some other days during my vacation. Eventually, when I needed to get back, as an inside joke, we also exchanged home addresses so we could write to each other. That’s how the tradition started.”

“Aww. That was so sweet!” Hunk put his hands on his cheeks. 

“Man, that’s such an iconic first meeting,” Lance leaned back after he realized he was at the edge of his seat that entire time.

“Yeah! It sounds like a scene from a movie, to be honest,” Pidge smiled. 

“No movie can capture the purity of such a moment. A guy stepping on the love interest's phone and breaking it? A movie would just turn that into a cliche; Shiro turned it iconic,” Matt chuckled.

“It was an accident...” Shiro made a face.

“Don’t worry, Shiro. It was the best accident I could’ve asked for,” Keith smiled, kissing the corner of Shiro’s mouth. “Besides, those exhibitions we went to together were so cool. Remember the one that Lotor voiced?”

“Oh my god, yes,” Shiro pulled Keith close. “British accent for the win.”

“Lotor? The actor?” Pidge raised her eyebrows. 

“Yeah! He narrated the space travel exhibition.”

“And remember the one that explained...”

As the others kept on talking, Lance couldn’t help but watch how Keith and Shiro were around each other. This entire time, they leaned against each other, laced their fingers together, looked at each other whether the other noticed or not. Now, Shiro said something into Keith’s ear that Lance couldn't hear. Whatever it was, it made someone like  _ him _ , Keith damn Kogane, blush and chuckle and pull Shiro’s arms tighter around himself. 

“I’m so glad this ship is canon,” Pidge whispered into Lance’s ear. 

He snorted, nodding nonetheless. 

✦

When it became late, and after saying goodbye, Matt took Hunk and Pidge in his car. 

As Lance walked to his work’s bike, he glanced at Keith and Shiro’s house one more time. Just before they finally closed their front door, the two smiled at each other and shared a kiss. 

Lance smiled. Just like Pidge had told him before, as long as he didn’t know them, he couldn’t judge them. Damnit, even now he couldn’t. He didn’t want to, either.

Because now that he finally had a taste, a glimpse of what they truly had, he already realized—it was only the tip of the iceberg.

Their love might just be something beyond his comprehension. 

**Author's Note:**

> This idea just came to me one month ago and I got caught up with it so much that I wrote most of it in a few days.  
> I hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.


End file.
